


love at second sight

by fransunflower



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Collage, Domestic Fluff, Drunken Flirting, Drunken Kissing, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Funny, Idiots in Love, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27212911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fransunflower/pseuds/fransunflower
Summary: "I still don't know your name," Danny said then."C.J. Cregg," she yelled over the music."C.J.?""Claudia Jean.""Claudia Jean," Danny repeated, testing how her name sounded from his lips. "I like it,"
Relationships: Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg
Kudos: 11





	love at second sight

**Author's Note:**

> This was also partly inspired by the song The Gambler by fun! so I recommend listening to that as well. Enjoy! (Also, yes, I stole the calculated and strategic line from Taylor Swift).
> 
> Also: this one's for Liv and Josie.

Danny Concannon didn't normally go to parties. It wasn't that he didn't like them. Actually, that was part of it too. But mostly he just didn't have time. Tonight, however, he had decided to go. Maybe _decided_ was a strong word. Josh had more or less forced him to come.  
Now, he was standing in some stranger's kitchen, drinking beer out of a plastic cup, chatting to a guy he thought was in his political science class.

But then she walked in. He'd only seen her on campus a few times before; they'd never talked. Danny knew she had a reputation for being a bit of a troublemaker; constantly calling out professors for how they treated the female students and even organizing a boycott of a class led by an old white man who would never call on the girls during his lectures.

"Danny!" Josh yelled from across the room. He seemed drunk although he couldn't have had more than a beer or two. Danny lifted his cup as a greeting. Josh was dragging the girl by the elbow, but she was too busy yelling at her friend over the music to even notice Danny. "How are you?" Josh yelled and leaned in so close Danny could smell the alcohol in his breath. Danny used one finger to gently push his friend away.

"I'm fine," Danny said, shrugging. Josh pulled the girl's elbow.

"Hey," he said, and she turned around. Her cheeks were flushed, her curls messy and Danny needed to stop himself from blurting out something incredibly stupid as he so often did in the company of beautiful women.

"You're Danny Concannon," she said and held out her hand. Danny was surprised she even knew he existed.

"The one and only," he said and immediately regretted it. Why couldn't he just have said something normal like, _Yes_ or _That's me_? Her hand felt soft in his, but she had a firm shake. The corner of her lips twitched into something that could be mistaken for a smile and took her hand back.

"I didn't like what you wrote about Professor Ronan," she told him matter-of-factly. Danny couldn't help but smile. So she'd read his article.

"May I ask why not?" he wanted to know as he shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the counter. The girl folded her arms across her chest. She was swaying a little, as if she had already had a few drinks and when she spoke, Danny could smell the alcohol on her breath. It wasn't unpleasant, however. The scent was sweet. Like honey and rum.

"You used the word calculated," she said. Danny could see Josh smile to himself as he quietly slipped away.

"I did." Danny looked at her in amusement.

"But when Professor Flint did the exact same thing a few weeks ago, you called him strategic." She pushed her glasses further up her nose and looked him dead in the eye. "See, the difference is; Professor Flint is a man and Professor Ronan is not."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Danny asked. The girl took a breath.

"When a man does something, it's strategic. When a woman does something, it's calculated." Danny smiled at her and tilted his head.

"Point well made," he told her before taking a sip of his beer. He liked the way she talked, liked the way her voice sounded when she argued, almost like a song. Although right now, she slurred her words a little, which only made her even more charming. "I still don't know your name," Danny said then.

"C.J. Cregg," she yelled over the music.

"C.J.?"

"Claudia Jean."

"Claudia Jean," Danny repeated, testing how her name sounded from his lips. "I like it," he told her and if it hadn't been so damn dark, he thought he might have been able to see her blush. They stood in silence for a moment. C.J. simply looked at him, studying his face, as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Danny did the same, only he knew exactly what to make of her.

"Aren't you going to offer me a drink?" C.J. said after what felt like hours but could hardly have been more than a few seconds. Danny laughed and handed her a plastic cup. He found an unopened bottle of beer and started emptying it into the cup. He handed it to her and their fingers brushed, if only for a moment, but Danny could swear he felt sparks fly between them. C.J. looked up as if she too had felt something. Or maybe she just happened to look up at the exact same time Danny touched her hand because, really, why would C.J. Cregg even be remotely interested in him?

"So, you don't like my writing?" Danny asked, looking over the edge of his cup. C.J. shrugged and took a sip of her drink before answering.

"I like the _way_ you write," she told him. "I just didn't like that piece." She paused for a moment. "And I think you're a bit cocky," she added with a smirk. Danny almost choked on his drink.

"I'm sorry," he laughed. "What?"

"You're cocky," C.J. stated as she moved to stand next to him.

"I am not," Danny insisted.

"Sure you are. You think you're smarter than everyone else."

"Well, I _am_ smarter than everyone else." C.J. lifted her eyebrows and looked him up and down.

"I doubt that," she told him.

"It's true." C.J. just shook her head and laughed.

"See? Cocky." Their shoulders brushed and neither of them dared to move. Danny watched as C.J. ran her fingers through her hair and traced the edge of her cup. She wore a pink sweater tucked into her jeans and her curly hair was up in a bun with a few locks framing her face. She was tall, taller than most girls, but Danny had no objection to that.

"Aren't you gonna flirt back at me?" C.J. asked suddenly. The question threw Danny off a little. He really hadn't been expecting that.

"I- Well- I- _What_?" was all he managed to get out. So she'd been flirting with him? C.J. laughed quietly and shook her head.

"Aren't you gonna tell me that you think I'm awfully opinionated and that I'm not so humble myself?"

"That's your idea of flirting?" Danny asked, slightly amused. C.J. shrugged.

"Well? Are you?"

"No," Danny said. The smile that had decorated C.J.'s face faded.

"Oh." She looked almost disappointed.

"I am, however, going to ask you to dance," Danny hurried to say and held out his hand for her. C.J.'s eyes traveled from Danny's face to his hand and back to his face again.

"Are you serious?" Her smile was back now and Danny thought if he could keep it there for only a minute longer, he would never ask for anything else.

"Dead serious."

"Well, Danny Concannon," C.J. said. "It would be an honour." Before Danny could even react, she had already gripped his hand and was pulling him into the living room where the furniture had been shoved to the walls to make room for the dancing couples. _I Wanna Dance With Somebody_ by Whitney Houston came on just as they had found a spot in the far end of the room. C.J. immediately started singing along, laughing when she got the lyrics wrong and spilling her drink all over the place. Danny took her hand and spun her around the dancefloor, occasionally poking her side, making her squeal. When the song changed to _Modern Love_ by David Bowie, C.J. could hardly contain her excitement. She jumped around, throwing her hands in the air and laughing at Danny's awkward dance moves.

"You call that dancing?" she yelled. Danny just chuckled and took her hands. He pulled her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing into his ear. His hands felt right on her waist, like they belonged there, and her hands seemed to fit perfectly on his shoulders. They danced like that for hours - or maybe it was just a few minutes, Danny couldn't tell.

"Hey, Danny," C.J. yelled over the music.

"Yeah?" Danny yelled back. While they were dancing, C.J. had somehow gotten hold of another drink and was now so unsteady on her feet, Danny had to practically hold her up.

"I think you should take me home," she whispered. Danny could feel the flush creep all the way up to his ears.

"C.J., I-" She leaned back and placed a finger on his lips.

" _Shhhh_." It was hard to take her seriously when she was struggling to keep her eyes open and could barely stand on her feet. She stumbled forward, into his arms, and mumbled something completely inaudible.

"Yup. Let's get you home." Danny grabbed her arm and put it around his neck, making his way out of the room. C.J. said something but it sounded more like she was talking to herself.

"Danny," she mumbled.

"Yeah?" They made their way out of the room and past Josh kissing some girl from the school newspaper.

"Danny." C.J. repeated, ignoring him. "Danny. Danny. Daniel? Daniela?"

"Daniela?" Danny laughed as they descended the stairs.

"What does _Danny_ stand for?" she poked his chest for emphasis.

"Not Daniela, that's for sure," Danny told her although she was probably not in any condition to understand sarcasm. "It's Daniel."

"I had a goldfish called Daniela when I was a kid," C.J. went on and Danny opened the door, stumbling out onto the street. "It died." Danny assumed she was still talking about her pet. "I loved that goldfish. I got it for Christmas when I was five."

"C.J., where do you live?"

"Excuse me?" She leaned back and frowned at Danny, as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

"Where you live? I gotta take you home. Remember?"

C.J. studied him, looking him up and down.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, no, no. We're going to _your_ place." She poked his chest again. Her finger stayed there for a while, playing with the fabric of his sweater.

"No, we're not," Danny laughed.

"But I don't know where I live," C.J. mumbled, looking at the ground. Danny tried to suppress laughter but it seemed to prove impossible.

"You don't know where you live?" Danny repeated. That could potentially be a problem.

"It's a pink house- or maybe it's more purple. Pink-purple-ish. I guess. It has a blue door? Is it blue? I can't remember." C.J. had gone back to talking to herself so Danny simply started walking, dragging her along with him. The night was quiet, the air chill, and the only sound were C.J.'s heels clicking on the cobblestones as she walked, almost like the beat of a song, as if they were still dancing. Luckily, Danny didn't live far from where the party had been held and after only a few minutes they arrived at his apartment. C.J. stopped dead in her tracks and looked intensely at his front door.

"This is where you live?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes," Danny laughed.

"Prove it," she demanded. Danny fished out the keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of her face. C.J. still wasn't convinced.

"Those could belong to anyone," she said and seemed utterly pleased with herself for figuring that out. Danny sighed and stuck the keys in the keyhole to open the door. He pushed it with his foot and led her inside. C.J. seemed disappointed that she'd been proved wrong. She flopped herself down on his sofa while Danny went to get her a glass of water.

"Nice place," she yelled.

"Thanks," Danny yelled back. He wasn't quite sure what exactly was happening right now. All he knew was that C.J. Cregg was currently in his living room, so drunk that she couldn't even remember where she lived. When Danny returned, C.J. was lying on the couch, facing the ceiling but when she saw him, she jumped up so quickly, Danny feared she might fall over.

"Danny," she exclaimed happily and held out her hands. "Dance with me." Danny offered her the water.

"I really think you should drink something," he told her. C.J. rolled her eyes and took the glass from him, chugging it all down in one sip and spilling the majority of the water on her shirt.

"Happy?" she asked and threw the glass on the sofa. "Now, dance with me."

"C.J., I really think you should get some sleep," Danny insisted.

"Oh, shush." And then she kissed him. Right on the mouth. Just like that. Her lips were soft and warm and her hands felt right in his neck. It would have been so easy to just keep kissing her, to pull her closer, to let her run her fingers through his hair. But instead, Danny pulled away.

"C.J.," he whispered, his hands still on her waist. "C.J., I think you should get some sleep." C.J. looked disappointed but she didn't protest much when Danny led her to his bedroom. She followed him obediently, holding his hand and giggling to herself as she walked. Danny propped her down on the bed and went to his closet. He tossed a t-shirt across the room at her. "You can sleep in that," he told her but C.J. didn't respond. She was looking at the floor, her hands grasping the edge of the bed. "C.J.?"

"Danny?" she said, not looking up.

"Yeah?"

"I think I need to throw up." She still wasn't moving. Danny hurried to her side and lifted her for the bed, leading her to the bathroom. As soon as she spotted the toilet, C.J. bolted for the bowl and emptied her stomach into it. Danny kneeled down next to her and held her hair away from her face. He rubbed her back as she wretched.

"It's okay," he told her. "It's okay." When she was done, she leaned against the wall for a moment, her eyes shut tight. Danny handed her a wet towel. She wiped her face and gave it back to him, before standing up on shaky legs. As she walked back towards the bedroom, it was like watching bambi on ice. Only bambi was a six foot tall woman who he had spent all night staring at as if she was the only person in the room. Danny waited for a moment before following her. She was sitting on the bed, his t-shirt next to her, trying to take off her shoes. "Do you need anything else?" Danny asked. She looked a bit lost, the way she just sat there, struggling with her left sock. "Or help?" he added, slightly amused.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. She didn't look fine.

"Alright. I'll just get you another glass of water and a bucket."

"Okay," C.J. said as he left the room. She was talking to herself when Danny came back and had now somehow managed to get herself tangled up in her own sweater.

"You okay there, C.J.?" Danny asked as he placed the glass on the bedside table and put the bucket down next to her.

"No," C.J. said in a tiny voice. Danny chuckled and helped her lift the offending clothing item over her head.

"There we are." C.J. was now only wearing her bra and underpants so Danny hurriedly reached for the t-shirt and practically threw it at her. She put it on - backwards one might add - and smiled at him, clearly still very drunk.

"You're pretty," she said, giggling to herself.

"Well, thanks," Danny mumbled, unsure of how to respond. C.J. leaned in, her eyes closed but Danny gently pushed her away. "C.J., I really think you should get some sleep." C.J. mumbled something to herself before reluctantly climbing underneath the covers. Danny tucked her in, softly stroking her hair away from her face. "There's a bucket for you in case you feel sick," he explained as he rose from the bed. Before he could leave, C.J. reached out her arm and called his name. Danny turned around. "Yeah?"

"Stay with me?" She looked tired but her eyes were kind and warm.

"C.J. I-"

"Just until I fall asleep." Danny gave in - because how couldn't he, when she was looking at him like that - and sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. C.J. slid her hand towards Danny and took his, their fingers intertwining.

"Tell me something," she whispered half into her pillow. Well, tequichally it was Danny's. He couldn't help but laugh.

"What'd you mean?" he asked. She shifted a bit and pulled his hand a little closer.

"Just tell me something. Anything. You're a writer. Think of something."

"Well…," Danny began although he wasn't really sure where he was going with this. "When I was seven I thought that if I jumped from the swing when it was really high up, I'd be able to fly." C.J. snorted and used her free hand to cover her mouth.

"That's really stupid," she told him, trying to supress laughter.

"Yeah well," Danny laughed. "I was seven." C.J. simply smirked and pulled her blanket up so only her nose was sticking out.

"When I was seven I read David Copperfield by myself," she mumbled.

"You did not!"

"No, but I looked at the pictures." Danny laughed and squeezed her hand.

"My sisters like to tell that story to everyone I bring home. They also like to tell the story about how I once opened all the Christmas presents while my parents were cooking in the kitchen. But to be fair I was two and they were supposed to be looking after me. I have three sisters. And one brother. The girls are all older. Jacob is still in high school. It's his last year. Connie - her real name's Cornelia, by the way. She'd want me to tell you that. Anyways, she just graduated from med school. She's the eldest. People say we look alike. I'm not so sure about that. She definitely doesn't like it when people point that out." Danny chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Go on," C.J. whispered, her eyes already closed.

"Then there's Sarah. She's just a year younger than Connie. They did everything together. But Sarah's in Law School now. She's doing really well. I think. She never calls. And Mary's the youngest of the girls. She's only fourteen months older than me. She likes to remind me of that though. She's also taller. Almost as tall as you, I think. She likes to point that out too." Danny glanced over at C.J. and realised he was talking to himself for C.J. had fallen asleep, her breathing slow and steady. Danny squeezed her hand and rose from the bed. He grabbed a shirt to sleep in and found a blanket in one of his cupboards. He made his way over to the couch and got comfortable. Danny didn't mind sleeping there. He had done so on many occasions when he had managed to fall asleep in the middle of some terrible horror movie Josh had made him watch.

He fell asleep almost immediately but was woken up after what seemed like only a few seconds. When he glanced at the clock on the coffee table, he realised he had been asleep for almost two hours. Someone was towering over him, poking his arm. For a moment, he didn't know what was going on but when his eyes adjusted to the light, he realised it was C.J., standing with her blanket wrapped tightly around her, looking a little like a lost puppy.

"Danny?" she whispered and poked him again. Danny sat up, blinking a few times and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What's up?" he mumbled.

"Were you awake?" C.J. asked quietly.

"At four in the morning?"

"Yeah."

"No, I was not awake at four in the morning." He thought that had been fairly obvious. C.J. bit her lip and scrunched her nose.

"Sorry," she mumbled and sat down at the edge of the bed. "I couldn't sleep." Danny moved so there was enough space for her on the couch. C.J. smiled and made herself comfortable next to him. Danny wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. He buried his face in her neck and C.J. took his hand in hers. It was weird how comfortable he felt with her. It was as if they had been doing this for years. She smelled of cinnamon and lemon and a tiny bit of rum and Danny thought it might be his favourite smell in the world. Her hair was soft, her skin smooth and hot. But then…

"Your toes are cold," Danny laughed and C.J. purposefully rubbed her icy feet against his legs.

"I have weird circulation," she explained. "My fingers get cold as well. But not right now." She squeezed his hand as if to prove her point. They were silent for a moment. Danny listened to C.J.'s breathing and he was almost certain she had fallen asleep but then she whispered: "Danny?"

"Mhm?" Danny pulled her a little closer, his face buried in her golden locks.

"Thank you." Danny moved her hair away and placed a gentle kiss on her neck in response. C.J. shifted a little and then finally turned around. Her face was inches away from his, their noses almost touching. She looked like something out of a fairytale, her skin ivory in the moonlight, her eyes dark blue. C.J. leaned forward, just a little, and gingerly kissed Danny's lips. It only lasted for about a second and when she pulled away, Danny felt himself longing for more. "Goodnight," she whispered into the dark, her hand resting on his chest with Danny's arms wrapped around her waist.

"Goodnight," Danny told her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Sleep came easily to Danny after that.

The next morning, Danny was woken up by someone yanking his blanket away. His eyes fluttered open and he saw C.J. sitting up next to him, looking completely mortified. Her hand was resting on her chest and she looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked, sitting up next to her. C.J. eyed him as if she wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

"Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"We didn't… Did we?" She gestured between them.

"What?" It was still too early for Danny to make much sense of what she was saying.

"You know..." C.J. raised her eyebrows and looked him up and down.

"Ohhh… no. _No_. No, we didn't." C.J. sighed with relief and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Okay, good. I mean- not _good_. Or- well. It wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world but- well. I just- I can't remember," she stammered.

"C.J.?" Danny tried but she wouldn't let him get a word in.

"Not that I would have minded. I'm just saying- I mean- considering the circumstances. I'm just not sure it would have been a good idea. But I didn't mean good as in good I just meant-"

"C.J.?" Danny tried again, louder this time.

"Yeah?"

"I got it." Danny smiled at her and C.J. turned crimson, her cheeks glowing.

"Right." She took a deep breath, staring at her hands, clearly avoiding him. "I don't… I don't remember much."

"Well you _were_ pretty drunk." C.J. playfully hit his arm.

"Like you weren't."

"At least I can still remember that we didn't sleep together." C.J. picked up the nearest pillow and smacked him over the head with it. "Ow!" Danny protested, removing the pillow from her grip and throwing it across the room.

"Go on. What happened?" C.J. asked, laying down again, looking up at the ceiling. Danny propped himself on his elbow and smiled down at her.

"Well… we were at the party."

"I remember."

"And you told me you didn't like my article on Professor Ronan and then you asked me if I wasn't going to flirt with you. I said no but asked you to dance." C.J. laughed at that, looking up at him.

"I recall some pretty awful dance moves," she told him. "Like… _really_ bad."

"Are you telling the story or am I?" Danny raised an eyebrow, slightly amused.

"You," C.J. mumbled.

"That's right. Anyway where were we?"

"Your terrible dance moves?" C.J. hid beneath her blanket, smiling from ear to ear.

"Yes. Well then you told me to take you home. Only you couldn't remember where you lived."

"I can see where that would be a problem."

"Yeah, just a small one," Danny laughed. "You told me something about a goldfish and the color of your door or something. And when we came back you… you…"

"I what?" C.J. sat up and looked him dead in the eye. "You're blushing," she stated, poking his cheek.

"I am not."

"Yes, you are! What did I do that's got you all hot and bothered?"

"Nothing. You just kissed me." Danny's cheeks were now the same color as C.J.'s had been moments before.

"That's it? I thought I'd taken off my bra and danced on your table, performing _The Jackal_ or something."

"What's _The Jackal_?" Danny asked, laughing.

"Ohhhh… Well, I'll have to show you sometime. It's hard to explain." In that moment, before Danny could even respond, the door swung open and a very hungover, very smelly Josh came tumbling into the apartment. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them, his eyes wandering from C.J. to Danny and back again. He was visibly confused. He didn't say anything for a very long time.

"Josh?" C.J. said, waving her hand.

"Yeah?" he asked, not taking his eyes off them.

"Can you please speak? It's physically painful watching you think." Josh made some strange hand gestures and opened his mouth but only weird sounds came out. Danny bit his lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter.

"Those aren't actual words," C.J. informed him.

"You- Danny- You and Danny- Here. In the apartment," was all Josh managed to get out.

"Still not a full sentence, Josh," C.J. said as she got up from the couch and left Josh there, his mouth half open. Danny could hear her chuckle to herself as she went into his room, presumably to change. A smile crept on Josh's face and Danny wanted nothing more than to slap it right off of there.

"You slept together," Josh said, stretching the words as he made his way over to the couch.

"We didn't sleep together," Danny insisted. "We just slept together." Josh looked at him as if he was speaking Chinese.

"I'm confused."

"Me too," Danny admitted.

"So you slept together but you didn't sleep together?" Josh repeated, probably more confused than he'd ever been in his entire life. At least that's how he looked.

"Yes. Basically." There was a small pause.

"Why, exactly? Didn't you sleep with her, I mean." Danny shot his friend a look.

"She was drunk, first of all. And second of all, I'm not even sure she would have wanted to sleep with me." Josh sighed loudly but Danny really wished he hadn't. He could smell the alcohol on his breath all the way from the other end of the couch.

"Danny. My friend. She's in _your_ apartment, wearing _your_ t-shirt, sleeping on _your_ couch. She definitely wants to sleep with you." Danny threw a couch cushion across the room at Josh but he blocked it with his hands. Josh stood up from the sofa and patted Danny on the shoulder. "I'll take a shower," Josh told him, unnecessarily.

"You should probably get some sleep too," C.J. said from the back of the room. Danny turned around. She had changed into the clothes she'd been wearing last night and was leaning against the doorframe as she talked. "You have a very delicate system," she said and ruffled his hair before walking into the kitchen.

"I do not- I do _not_ have a delicate system!" Josh protested.

"But you do," Danny agreed and got up. Josh mumbled something to himself about definitely not having a delicate system and that they were both just big bullies before disappearing into the bathroom. When he entered the kitchen, Danny found C.J. rummaging around the cupboards. She was humming something and swaying from side to side.

"Can I help you?" Danny asked. C.J. turned around, smiling brightly. She didn't look as hung over as Danny had assumed she would.

"Coffee?" she asked, leaning against the counter.

"I'll make some," Danny told her and moved to find the coffee beans.

"Thanks," C.J. mumbled and kissed him on the cheek. She moved away quickly, almost embarrassed and looked down at her feet. Danny wanted nothing more than to pull her in right there and then and kiss those sweet lips of hers. But he didn't. He just made coffee.

When he was done, he handed C.J. the cup. She delicately wrapped her fingers around it as if it was made of porcelain. They drank it in silence, neither of them feeling the need to speak. Danny studied her over the edge of his glasses. He wanted to notice every little detail about C.J. and memorise it forever. The way she tugged her ear lobe when she was thinking or the way she pulled her hair behind her ear when she was nervous.

"I should probably head back home," C.J. said and stood up, putting her mug in the sink.

"Right." Danny followed her back into the hall. He helped her find her purse and jacket which she had drunkenly thrown underneath the coffee table the night before. They stood awkwardly in front of the door for a moment, neither of them moving.

"Well…," C.J. began. "I should probably…"

"Yeah." C.J. smiled at the ground.

"Listen, Danny," she said. Anything that started with _listen_ couldn't be good. "I… I had fun last night. I think. I can't remember. But I'm pretty sure I did. And you're… well, you're a little bit awkward and your dancing's terrible but that's not something we can't fix." He laughed at that because his dancing abilities were indeed limited. "But I like you. And I think you should give me a call. My number's on your nightstand." To Danny's surprise she leaned and kissed him. He hadn't been expecting that. It felt nice to kiss her again. Her lips were soft and he could still taste the coffee from earlier on them. He wrapped his one arm around her waist, pulling her closer, his other hand finding hers. C.J.'s fingers traveled up his neck and through his hair, sending electric shocks down his spine. When she pulled away, she lingered only inches away from Danny's face, silently catching her breath.

"We should do that again sometime," she said and reached for the door handle. Completely flustered, Danny didn't know what to say. "Goodbye, Danny Concannon."

"Claudia Jean." She stepped out into the hallway and threw one last look at him over her shoulder before descending the stairs.

They didn't know it then but Danny would call her that evening and ask her to go see a movie with him. They would hold hands in the dark and steal sneaky glances when they thought the other wasn't looking. He'd walk her home and she would invite him in and he would stay the night. They didn't know it then but they would fall in love quicker than either of them had anticipated and it would scare her. But he would promise not to leave her side and she would finally agree to move in with him, kicking Josh out of the apartment. They didn't know it then but when she would get pregnant a few years after leaving school she wouldn't be as terrified as she thought she'd be. And he would hold her hand through labour and kiss her forehead and tell her she was beautiful. They didn't know it then but they would get married a year after their daughter was born. She would look just like her father with orange curls and pretty blue eyes but she would grow up to be just as fierce as her mother. They didn't know it then but their son would be born only nine months later and she would tell him he had his father's eyes but his mother's pretty face. They didn't know it then but he would annoy her in the White House briefing room as she stood behind the podium and buy her a goldfish named Gail for her office. They would fight in the corridors and she would roll her eyes and tell him to piss off. They didn't know it then but he would be the one to hold her when her father died and squeeze her hand at Leo McGarry's funeral.

Danny Concannon didn't know any of that. But what he did know was that C.J. had left her number on his nightstand.

THE END 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this. Any feedback is always appreciated!


End file.
